WASHINGTON — Today, Arizona Education Association President Marisol Garcia testified before the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee about the cost and consequences of Arizona’s out-of-control ESA voucher program.
The full hearing video can be viewed here.
President Garcia’s full written testimony is available here.
“For more than three decades, Arizona has been at the center of efforts to weaken public education by breaking the connection between families and neighborhood schools. Data from our state shows that vouchers primarily benefit high-income students — not those with disabilities or children from low-income families who need support the most. Increasingly, so-called “school choice” policies mean that schools choose students — not the other way around,” said President Garcia. “Vouchers have never been popular in Arizona, with school privatization driven by lawmakers and special interests, not families. As roughly $1 billion a year is diverted from public schools to private hands, districts have laid off educators and closed schools. Every child deserves a great school that prepares them for the future. In Arizona, our experience shows that vouchers are not the way to achieve that goal.”
Earlier this month, AEA released new public polling showing that Arizona voters back reforms to the state’s troubled voucher program by more than a 2-1 margin, with overwhelming majorities supporting basic accountability, safety, and transparency reforms to protect students and taxpayer funds.